If Li Feng became the leader of Yuncheng, I can't say anything else, but in his speech on the city anniversary, Li Feng would definitely be more attractive and more inspiring than Mr. Long.
Qiu Shi was unwilling to agree with what he said, but he felt powerless to refute it every time.
"You are always right." He looked at Li Feng.
"I can't help it," Li Feng said, "You have to use both physical and mental strength. I was forced to do this."
"What is my identity when I go to Xima Town now?" Qiu Shi asked, "With your brain power, I will definitely not be just the captain of the second team now."
"Smart," Li Feng said, "You are now the captain and consultant of the second team."
"What consultant?" Qiu Shi was stunned.
"You are a specially hired symbiote combat consultant for our team," Li Feng said. "You have extensive experience in combating symbiotes. You understand their attack methods and their combat logic."
"I don't understand what you're saying," Qiu Shi looked at him, "what the hell is this."
"Just remember that Colonel Yu's orders will also take your opinions into consideration," said Li Feng.
"… You really dare to do anything," Qiu Shi said, "Where's Xing Bi?"
"Xing Bi is the commander-in-chief of Yuncheng's biochemical bodies," Li Feng said, "I think you can understand this and have no objection. Xing Bi is currently the strongest biochemical body in Yuncheng, and also the most reliable one."
"Does Xing Bi know that he is the commander-in-chief?" Qiu Shi glanced towards the bunker. Xing Bi was sitting on the top of the middle bunker looking at this side.
"He's actually already doing this job," Li Feng said. "Now we're just giving him a clear title to make it more convenient for him."
"Director Li!" Xiao Lei and a group of people ran down from the bunker, "We are all ready, we can set off."
"Let's ride in the same car with Advisor Qiu," Li Feng said. "The uniforms are all in the car. You can change into them later. Don't let the garrison in Xima Town think you are not regular."
"Okay." Xiao Lei nodded.
"What's wrong with your face?" Li Feng asked.
"I..." Xiao Lei looked at Qiu Shi, "I fell when I went to pee yesterday."
"Get in the car." Li Feng tilted his head.
After everyone got on the bus, he looked at Qiu Shi and said, "Why did you choose to beat up someone from the Security Bureau?"
"Without him taking the lead," Qiu Shi said, "would it be possible for these people to fall into your trap so quickly?"
Li Feng smiled and said, "Contact me when you've settled down at Xima."
Qiu Shi didn't say anything, turned around and got into the car.
Once the title of combat advisor and commander-in-chief of the biochemical body is given, the treatment will be different. There will be a full-time driver, and two cars in front and back, one for the biochemical body and the other for the group of corpse collectors.
In order to give face to Qiu Shi, this group of brothers did not have to follow the dozens of people who came to recruit soldiers. They were squeezed into a big black car with a weapons and equipment vehicle following behind.
Of course, the weapons were supplies for Xima Town and were not included in their treatment.
But when we set out, we were still full of momentum.
Qiu Shi glanced at the shelter outside the car window and felt a little sad. He didn't know how long it would take him to come back.
"Li Feng said that there would be people guarding the bunker, and the bunker would not be requisitioned by the soldiers stationed outside the city," He Jiang said, "Does this count?"
"It counts." Xiao Lei said.
"This kind of thing, which is trouble-free and has no immediate value," Qiu Shi said, "will definitely count."
"If I hadn't left here, I wouldn't have discovered it. I have nothing but these stones," Zhao Lu said.
"You still have a life," Hu Xiaoling said, "and that's already very rich."
"Treasure your life, you only have one," Qiu Shi said, "Tell me before you do anything risky next time."
The car drove out of the checkpoint outside Chuyun City. Qiu Shi looked outside again. The conscription had taken away all the young and strong men. The rest who were stopped outside the city were basically women and those who looked unwell, and some were disabled.
These people may be added to the outer city, but it is hard to say whether they can survive.
All they can say is that entering the outer city is the only hope that keeps them alive right now.
"Don't you need to go to the car with the biochemical body?" Qiu Shi glanced at Xing Bi.
"Sang Fan is here," Xing Bi said, "She knows a lot about Zheng Ting's situation this time. She can tell them about it first. It will also be a good opportunity for her to learn."
"What to learn?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Let's get in touch with other biochemical bodies. She's new," Xing Bi said, "and she's not very good at socializing with people. Besides, it will be more relaxing for everyone if she introduces the situation."
"Are they a little afraid of you?" Qiu Shi leaned back in his chair and smiled.
"Is there?" Xing Bi asked.
"I can feel it." said Qiu Shi.
Xing Bi was silent for a while, then smiled and said, "Maybe. After all, the memories are all there. They remember everything I did."
"Why did they stay in Yuncheng in the end?" Qiu Shi asked.
"After all, this is what our factory settings require. It's not easy to break through this." Xing Bi said, "It's infinitely close to humans, but it's never human."
Qiu Shi sighed softly: "It's different from you. You broke through this point but..."
"I still have hope for humans," Xing Bi looked at him, "there will always be a human being who gives me hope."
Qiu Shi held his hand and squeezed it hard.
After all the people in the three teams were killed, the defense of Xima Town was obviously strengthened. In addition to the inconspicuous secret sentries along the way, several more sentry towers were added near the town, with their gun barrels facing the outside, and armored vehicles were parked under the sentry towers.
Even though they had special passes, their group of five vehicles was still stopped and scrutinized at every checkpoint.
These were no problem for Qiu Shi. It was right to strengthen the defense. It was too easy for biochemical organisms to break through human defense. The only way was to increase the density and strengthen the armament.
However, to the corpse collectors in the car, this scene looked much bigger than the checkpoints and outposts outside Yuncheng, and they could immediately feel the tense atmosphere of war.
A lot of the first batch of conscripts have been sent here. When their car passed Xiniu Village, they could see many new recruits waiting to enter the town after roll call inspection.
"Fuck." He Jiang looked out the window. "It looks much more exaggerated than in Yuncheng. Why isn't Yuncheng like this?"
"There are also deployments in Yuncheng, we just don't know about it," Qiu Shi said, "and the front of Yuncheng is all wasteland, which is not easy to defend. Xima Town is the first line of defense."
The town also became much more lively, with teams of soldiers and military vehicles passing by from time to time.
When Qiu Shi and his team's car stopped in front of the supermarket, Zhao Yi and his men were waiting on the side of the street, along with Captain Yang and two veterans.
"Advisor Qiu," Captain Yang said, "thank you for your hard work."
"Qiu Shi, Qiu Shi," Qiu Shi was a little uncomfortable with the sound, "You can call me Captain Qiu, don't call me consultant."
"Captain Qiu," Captain Yang immediately changed his address back to "the dormitories for the biochemicals are all arranged on the second floor. The new recruits you brought here will be arranged in the barracks over there. There are no vacant rooms on the second team side."
"Sure, no problem," Qiu said, "Just do the same as everyone else."
"Which unit will they be assigned to? I'll come and discuss it with you later after they've settled down," asked Captain Yang.
"I'll come to see you later." said Qiu Shi.
"Okay." Captain Yang called out to the group of corpse collectors who got off the car, "Everyone, take your belongings. Someone will take you to the barracks."
"Captain Yang and I will come to find you later after we confirm which unit you belong to." Qiu Shi whispered to Brigade Zhao.
"No need to take special care of us," Zhao Lu also whispered, "It's easy for others to think that we are special. Just treat us normally. We will live longer than those refugees who have never had enough food."
Qiu Shi sighed and said nothing more.
After greeting the people from Team 2, Qiu Shi looked at Xing Bi and said, "I'll take the bio-body to the second floor. Can you go and bring Ji Sui, Xu Jie and the others in?"
"Yeah." Xing Bi nodded.
All the rooms on the second floor were vacated, except for the rooms previously occupied by Qiu Shi and Xing Bi, the rest were left to the biochemical bodies.
Lin Sheng was standing on the second-floor corridor leaning against the railing. When he saw Qiu Shi coming up with his men, he slowly stood up straight.
"Hello again," he said, "everyone."
"Nice to meet you again." Someone answered.
Sang Fan took the four female bio-bodies to his own room, and Lin Sheng arranged rooms for the remaining sixteen male bio-bodies.
"The bodies of Team 3 have been found." Lin Sheng arranged the rooms and returned to the corridor.
"Any clues?" Qiu Shi asked immediately.
"All of them had their heads crushed," Lin Sheng said. "One team member had black pine needles in his fingernails. There are only a few red pines near Xima Town."
"Where are the black pine trees?" Qiu Shi asked.
Lin Sheng turned and walked into his dormitory. There was a sand table inside, which was a topographic map of the area from Xima Town to Shidi and Zhuyuan. There were three places with toothpicks stuck in them.
"These three places." Lin Sheng pointed to the location of the toothpick.
"Where did this thing come from?" Qiu Shi asked.
"What I made," Lin Sheng said, "is just a rough outline of the terrain."
"That's impressive," Qiu Shi was a little surprised. "Where did you get the data?"
"When you were injured," Lin Sheng said, "Xing Bi collected them when he was looking for Zheng Ting and the others."
Qiu Shi didn't say anything, but reached out and gently touched the sand table.
"Not too far," Qiu Shi said, "These three places are within a distance from Xima Town where we can launch an attack overnight."
"Yes," Lin Sheng said, turning to look at the door, "I suggest as soon as possible."
Qiu Shi turned around and saw Xing Bi had already walked in with Ji Sui and Xu Jie.
"Assign the teams," Qiu Shi said to Xing Bi as he walked out. He knew the symbiote wouldn't wait too long. They were collecting infected people. Once they had enough people, they could attack at any time. They had to race against time. "I'll go tell Captain Yang."
"Yes." Xing Bi responded, "We don't need human soldiers now. We will need their cooperation after we have determined the target."
"Okay." Qiu Shi walked out of the dormitory.
Except for the streets in Xima Town which still retain the same appearance as when Qiu Shi came for "exploration", even the houses have been transformed into an unfamiliar appearance. The signs of various shops have been taken down and replaced by signs of various office places and neatly arranged barracks.
When Qiu Shi walked towards Captain Yang's office, he felt that the distant traces of Xima Town's "ancestors" were being washed away bit by bit.
This is completely the world of the "end-of-the-world guys", with orderly tension and a suppressed hint of panic.
The body collection team was temporarily assigned to logistics. They had received basic education, could drive, and could be responsible for the management, distribution, and transportation of various materials. This was suggested by Captain Yang, and Qiu Shi did not object.
"But we still need to take turns patrolling at night," Captain Yang said. "Although we have monitoring equipment, given the speed of the symbiote, early warning can only be measured in seconds, so we can only increase the frequency and density of patrols."
"Yeah." Qiu Shi nodded.
"When will the biochemical body set off?" asked Captain Yang.
"Not sure," Qiu Shi said, "I'm ready at any time. I need a light snowmobile, but I don't need heavy weapons. A gun I carry with me will do."
"Okay," Captain Yang looked at him, and after a while he asked again, "Captain Qiu, what do you think..."
"Goodbye," Qiu Shi said, "Captain Yang, let's relax like before, otherwise I will feel uncomfortable being controlled by you."
"The war is about to begin," Captain Yang said in a very smooth and straightforward manner every time he changed his address. "Do you think we can defend Xima Town if a war breaks out?"
"I don't know," Qiu said. "I usually don't think that far."
"Is this... far?" Captain Yang asked.
"Far away," Qiu Shi said, "I only think about the things in front of me, such as scouting the symbiote's nest later. I don't think too much about things that are farther away. Whether I can defend it or not, whether the mission is completed or failed, for me, it's a matter of life or death. Thinking too much about this kind of thing will make you scared. My courage comes more from anger and impulse."
"Thank you." Captain Yang looked at him and smiled, "These words are very inspiring to me." Qiu Shi actually also wondered whether he could defend Xima Town, and if not, he would die.
Who will die
Those conscripted refugees and ordinary soldiers will die, die in battle, die from injuries and illnesses.
Who can survive
Qiu Shi didn't think about it any further. Some things would be painful if he thought about them too clearly.
When he was walking back, a transport truck stopped beside him. He turned around and saw that the driver was Zhao Lu.
"Fuck," Qiu Shi was a little shocked, "You're starting now?"
"It just so happens that the captain of our team is going to deliver some goods to the village outside, so I'm the one who took these to the warehouse," Brigade Zhao lowered his voice, "Do you know who else is in our team? Zhang Cantou, the guy who sells bone skewers at the refugee market."
"Is he here too?" Qiu Shi asked.
"A few days earlier than us," Zhao Lu said, "He said that they provide food and clothes here, and they can sleep in beds. The house is drafty, and it's better than the outer city. It's worth it even if he dies here."
"Forget the last sentence." said Qiu Shi.
"I know," Brigade Zhao smiled, "We also have food and clothes in the bunker, beds, and the room is draft-proof."
There were twenty biochemical bodies, plus the people from Xing Bi's original team, plus Sang Fan, Xiao Zuo and Xiao You, a total of twenty-seven people. Excluding two civilian staff who were summarizing information in the town's command room and a few who were left to defend the town, the rest were divided into three groups to scout three suspected locations.
The first group is Xing Bi, Lin Shengqiu Shi, and Xiao Zuo. The second group is Ji Sui and Sang Fan, plus Xiao You and a new undercover guard. The third group is Xu Jie and three new undercover guards. These three were the members of the group before Xu Jie was assigned to Xing Bi's group, and they have been working together for a long time.
Before departure, everyone gathered together, and Xing Bi handed each of the symbiotes a small black box, the size of a palm: "Symbiosis cannot be changed for the time being, this can be temporarily shielded, the other party cannot control it, and we cannot control or sense it either. Just open it when needed."
"Is this the kind used by people in Donglin?" Qiu Shi asked.
"Yes, but theirs is a large one. Mayor Luo gave one to Yuncheng," Xing Bi said, "This one was shrunk by Director Wu's people based on the principle. It can be used, but we don't know how long it can be used and whether it will be broken through."
"It's still in the experimental stage," said Qiu Shi.
"Yes," Xing Bi said, "Let's try it."
Qiu Shi was a little unhappy, but there was nothing he could do. At least this was better than taking no measures at all.
"Let's go," Xing Bi said, "Everyone, the mission begins."
The location that Xing Bi's team went to was in the southwest, directly south of the giant nest they had seen last time, which was theoretically the most likely location.
When they set out, the sun was already setting but had not yet completely set. The snow was casting a golden glow, which was very beautiful but a little dazzling, so Qiu Shi took out his goggles and put them on.
Xing Bi drove him, and Lin Sheng drove Xiao Zuo.
Yuncheng brought out a lot of new weapons and vehicles this time. The two snowmobiles they are driving now are light, stable, quiet and very fast.
There is no problem except that the wind on my face feels like it is tearing my skin off because the speed is too fast.
Qiu Shi opened the map, lowered his head and rested his forehead against Xing Bi's back to avoid the wind, staring at the changes on the map.
The last time he rode a bike like this was when he went to Donglin. The only difference was that this time he had a place to put his feet and no longer had to step on Xing Bi's shoes.
"Xing Bi." Lin Sheng called Xing Bi during the team call.
"Yeah." Xing Bi responded.
"Ji Sui and the others went to check the previous nest." Lin Sheng said, "Zheng Ting's body is gone."
"Yeah." Xing Bi responded.
"He's not dead," Lin Sheng said, "the system hasn't been destroyed."
"I know." Xing Bi said.
Qiu Shi raised his head.
"Do you want to use symbiotic perception?" Lin Sheng asked, "to let Zheng Ting feel what you feel."
"Killing Zheng Ting alone won't do much," Xing Bi said. "The people behind him are the key. If they can help, it will be beneficial to us. If not, we can kill him again."
"Yeah." Lin Sheng responded and said nothing more.
"You didn't tell me." Qiu Shi opened the private call.
"I don't want to put any more pressure on you," Xing Bi said, "The four symbiotes are unable to move, and you are the only one left."
"I can still handle this little bit of pressure," said Qiu Shi.
"Okay." Xing Bi said.
"What's good?" Qiu Shi asked.
"I'll tell you next time." Xing Bi said.
"Do you want there to be a next time?" Qiu Shi said.
"What should we do?" Xing Bi said, "We can't go back now."
"Next time something similar happens," Lin Sheng said, "he will tell you."
“Fuck,” Qiu Shi was stunned when he heard Lin Sheng’s voice, and quickly pressed several buttons on the headset, “Hello?”
"There is no private call channel for this group mission." Lin Sheng said.
"Fuck." Qiu Shi stopped talking, lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Xing Bi's back again, then sighed.
I could feel that Xing Bi was smiling.
Laugh, laugh.
As we gradually approached the mission destination, large tracts of green woodland began to appear all around us, all of which were black pine forests.
Sporadic infected people began to be seen on the map, but they were wandering around randomly and not moving in any particular direction.
If there is a nest here, it means that the destruction of the northwest nest last time still had a significant impact on them. It is not easy to gather a sufficient number of infected people in a short period of time.
"There are fungi." Qiu Shi saw small pieces of fungi on the map. They were scattered, as if they were spreading from the main nest.
"Walk," Xing Bi said. "There's a rock pit ahead. Park the car there."
"You've chased me so far before?" Qiu Shi said.
"Yeah." Xing Bi smiled.
Qiu Shi reached out and gently pinched his shoulders twice.
"Were there any fungi when you came last time?" Lin Sheng asked.
"Yes." Xing Bi said.
"This distribution pattern looks like it was formed naturally," said Lin Sheng.
"But the source could also be an artificial nest." Xing Bi stopped the car and saw that there was indeed a rock pit in front of him that could accommodate two cars.
"One group has arrived near the target location," Xing Bi reported the situation to Xima Town, "and now we will start exploring inside."
"Received," a female voice came from the other end, "Groups 2 and 3 are expected to arrive in half an hour. If there are no abnormalities, be ready to support them at any time."
"Got it." Xing Bi walked towards the woods ahead.
There were black pines all around. Under the moonlight, one could see snow piled on the dark green pine needles. The tree trunks were black. Qiu Shi reached out and touched them, and found that they were not covered with fungi. The trunks of the older trees were gray-black.
Going further, the pine forest became denser and denser, and large patches of black fungus began to appear on the map.
"Yes." Lin Sheng said.
Xing Bi, Lin Sheng and Xiao Zuo distanced themselves from each other and slowly advanced forward. Qiu Shi followed behind them a little bit, with the gun in hand. Although he felt that the gun might be difficult to aim in such a dense forest, it was just to find a sense of security.
After walking deeper into the woods for a while, Xing Bi suddenly stopped.
Lin Sheng and Xiao Zuo also stopped.
Xing Bi squatted down, turned on the flashlight, and waved it near the ground.
There was a patch of fine reflections in front of me, and above the ground was a dense net made of thin steel wires, blocking the way forward.
"Go around." Xing Bi turned off the flashlight and reported the situation. "We found something unusual. There's a trap. It should be a nest."
Then a few people began to slowly circle southward.
This piece of thin steel wire looked like a spider web after rain in the moonlight, extending all the way to the edge of the nest, with no idea where it ended.
Qiu Shi took every step where Xing Bi had stepped. Although he could see the steel wires, the vision of the biochemical body was far better than his. To be on the safe side, he tried his best to follow Xing Bi.
After walking for less than five minutes, there was a sudden movement in the dense forest in the distance. The pine forest was shaking, and I could hear the brief crisp sound of tree trunks breaking.
"What is that?" Qiu Shi stared at the edge of the map. "It sounds like an earthquake."
"It's not a conventional symbiotic biochemical body." Xing Bi said.
"Here it comes, only one." Qiu Shi said. A bright spot appeared right in front of them on the map. It was this thing. It was rushing towards them at a high speed. Its route was completely in a straight line. Combined with the trees in front that were constantly broken and the treetops that were shaking wildly like a strong wind, it was clear that this thing did not go around the trees, but instead crashed into one tree after another and rushed straight towards them.
Just one thing created such a scene.
Several people separated to both sides, avoiding the path of this thing.
And the map information finally gave a judgment at this time.
"It's a fucking bear." said Qiu Shi.
"It's huge." Lin Sheng held a knife in one hand and pulled out a gun with the other.
Xing Bi and Xiao Zuo quickly climbed up the trees on both sides. This bear was obviously not an animal in its natural state, so they were ready to attack it from top, bottom, left and right at the same time.
At the same time as a thick old pine tree was knocked down, Qiu Shi saw the giant bear that caused the effect of an earthquake.
"Your ancestors." Qiu Shi raised his head and saw blood-red eyes that seemed to be at the height of the second-floor balcony.
The author has something to say:
To be continued tomorrow⊙▽⊙.
I've updated as early as possible these days, otherwise it's lunch time at 5:20, and it's a bit chaotic when there are relatives at home...